Selectively augmenting communications transmitted by a communication device

ABSTRACT

Technologies for selectively augmenting communications transmitted by a communication device include a communication device configured to acquire new user environment information relating to the environment of the user if such new user environment information becomes available. The communication device is further configured to create one or more user environment indicators based on the new user environment information, to display the one or more created user environment indicators via a display of the communication device and include the created user environment indicator in a communication to be transmitted by the communication device if the created user environment indicator is selected for inclusion in the communication.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/631,522, filed Sep. 28, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,746,990,issued on Aug. 29, 2017.

BACKGROUND

Mobile and desktop communication devices are becoming ubiquitous toolsfor communication between two or more remotely located persons. Whilesome such communication is accomplished using voice and/or videotechnologies, a large share of communication in business, personal andsocial networking contexts utilizes textual technologies. In someapplications, textual communications may be supplemented with graphiccontent in the form of avatars, animations and the like.

Modern communication devices are equipped with increased functionality,processing power and data storage capability to allow such devices toperform advanced processing. For example, many modern communicationdevices, such as typical “smart phones,” are capable of monitoring,capturing and analyzing large amounts data relating to their surroundingenvironment. Additionally, many modern communication devices are capableof connecting to various data networks, including the Internet, toretrieve and receive data communications over such networks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The concepts described herein are illustrated by way of example and notby way of limitation in the accompanying figures. For simplicity andclarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Where considered appropriate, referencelabels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding oranalogous elements.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of asystem for selectively augmenting communications transmitted by acommunication device;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of auser communication device of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of anexternal computing device/system/server of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of at least one embodiment of anenvironment of the user communication device of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of at least one exampleimplementation of the user environment indicator database of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a simplified flow diagram of at least one embodiment of amethod for selectively augmenting communications transmitted by the usercommunication device of FIGS. 1-2 and 4-5;

FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram illustrating an embodiment of the usercommunication device engaged in an example communication in which theuser has selected from the display a recently acquired user avatar forinclusion with the communication to be transmitted by the device;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are simplified diagrams illustrating an embodiment of theuser communication device engaged in another example communication inwhich the user has selected from a displayed library of user avatars arecently acquired user avatar for inclusion with the communication to betransmitted by the device; and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are simplified diagrams illustrating an embodiment ofthe user communication device engaged in yet another examplecommunication in which the user has selected from a displayed library ofuser environment indicators a recently acquired user avatar, a currentlocal weather indicator and an accompanying audio file for inclusionwith the communication to be transmitted by the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof havebeen shown by way of example in the drawings and will be describedherein in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is nointent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure to the particularforms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives consistent with the presentdisclosure and the appended claims.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an illustrative embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may or may not necessarily includethat particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, suchphrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further,when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure,or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or notexplicitly described.

The disclosed embodiments may be implemented, in some cases, inhardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. The disclosedembodiments may also be implemented as instructions carried by or storedon a transitory or non-transitory machine-readable (e.g.,computer-readable) storage medium, which may be read and executed by oneor more processors. A machine-readable storage medium may be embodied asany storage device, mechanism, or other physical structure for storingor transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., avolatile or non-volatile memory, a media disc, or other media device).

In the drawings, some structural or method features may be shown inspecific arrangements and/or orderings. However, it should beappreciated that such specific arrangements and/or orderings may not berequired. Rather, in some embodiments, such features may be arranged ina different manner and/or order than shown in the illustrative figures.Additionally, the inclusion of a structural or method feature in aparticular figure is not meant to imply that such feature is required inall embodiments and, in some embodiments, may not be included or may becombined with other features.

Referring now to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a system 100 for augmentingcommunications includes a user communication device 102 communicativelycoupled to any number, J, of remote communication devices 104 ₁-104_(J), where J may be any positive integer, via a network 106. Asdiscussed in more detail below, the user communication device 102 isconfigured to acquire user environment information, which may relate tothe user of the communication device 102 (e.g., the user's context,physical characteristics of the user, and/or other sensed aspects of theuser) and/or to events or conditions surrounding the user of thecommunication device 102. Such user environment information may beacquired from one or more devices and/or sensors on-board the usercommunication device 102 and/or from one or more sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L)external to the user communication device 102, where L may be anypositive integer. Alternatively or additionally, user environmentinformation may be produced by one or more application programs executedby the user communication device 102, and/or by one or more externaldevices, systems or servers 108 ₁-108 _(K), where K may be any positiveinteger. In either case, such user environment information may beacquired by the user communication device 102. Examples of such userenvironment information may include, but should not be limited to, stillimages of the user, video of the user, physical characteristics of theuser (e.g., gender, height, weight, hair color, etc.), activities beingperformed by the user, physical location of the user, audio content ofthe environment surrounding the user, movement of the user, proximity ofthe user to one or more objects, temperature of the user and/orenvironment surrounding the user, direction of travel of the user,humidity of the environment surrounding the user, medical condition ofthe user, other persons in the vicinity of the user, pressure applied bythe user to the user communication device 102, and the like.

The user communication device 102 is further configured to create one ormore user environment indicators based on the user environmentinformation, and to display the one or more user environment indicatorsvia a display of the device 102. User environment indicators may becreated in the form of images, animations, audio clips, video clips, andexamples of user environment indicators include, but should not belimited to, image avatars, animated avatars, sound bites, synthesizedaudio clips, pre-recorded audio clips, images representing currentlocation and/or conditions, and the like. The user communication device102 is further configured to allow the user to select one or more of thedisplayed user environment indicators and to include the selected one ormore user environment indicators in a communication transmitted by theuser communication device 102 to another device or system, e.g., to oneor more of the remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J), and/or toone or more subscribers, viewers and/or participants of one or moresocial network, blogging, gaming or other services hosted by one or moreexternal computing devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K).

The user communication device 102 may be embodied as any type of devicefor communicating with one or more remote devices/systems/servers andfor performing the other functions described herein. For example, theuser communication device 102 may be embodied as, without limitation, acomputer, a desktop computer, a personal computer (PC), a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a mobile computingdevice, a smart phone, a cellular telephone, a handset, a messagingdevice, a work station, a network appliance, a web appliance, adistributed computing system, a multiprocessor system, a processor-basedsystem, a consumer electronic device, a digital television device, a settop box, and/or any other computing device configured to store andaccess data, and/or to execute electronic game software and relatedapplications. A user may use multiple different user communicationdevices 102 to communicate with others, and the user communicationdevice 102 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be understood to represent one ormultiple such communication devices.

The one or more remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) may eachlikewise be embodied as any type of device for communicating with one ormore remote devices/systems/servers. Example embodiments of the remotecommunication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) may be identical to those justdescribed with respect to the user communication device 102.

The one or more external computing devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108_(K) may each be embodied as any type of device, system or server forcommunicating with the user communication device 102, any of the one ormore remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) and/or any of theexternal sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L), and for performing the other functionsdescribed herein. Examples embodiments of the external computingdevices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K) may be identical to those justdescribed with respect to the user communication device 102 and/or maybe embodied as a conventional server, e.g., web server or the like.

The one or more external sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L) may be embodied asvarious conventional servers configured to transmit sensory data to theuser communication device 102 via the network 106 and/or via a wirelesscommunication link 112, e.g., a wireless radio frequency link, and/orvia a conventional wired communication link. Examples of the one or moreexternal sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L) may include, but should not be limitedto, one or more proximity sensors, one or more radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) transceivers or receivers, one or more biosensors,e.g., body fluid analyte, toxic substance or other bio sensors, one ormore heart rate sensors, one or more body and/or ambient temperaturesensors, one or more blood pressure sensors, one or more humiditysensors, and the like.

The network 106 may represent, for example, a private or non-privatelocal area network (LAN), personal area network (PAN), storage areanetwork (SAN), backbone network, global area network (GAN), wide areanetwork (WAN), or collection of any such computer networks such as anintranet, extranet or the Internet (i.e., a global system ofinterconnected network upon which various applications or service runincluding, for example, the World Wide Web). In alternative embodiments,the communication path between the user communication device 102 and theone or more remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J), between theuser communication device 102 and the one or more external computingdevices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K), and/or between the usercommunication device 102 and the one or more external sensors 110 ₁-110_(L), may be, in whole or in part, a wired connection. Generally,communications between the user communication device 102 and any suchremote devices, systems, servers and/or sensors may be conducted via thenetwork 106 using any one or more, or combination, of conventionalsecure and/or unsecure communication protocols. Examples include, butshould not be limited to, a wired network communication protocol (e.g.,TCP/IP), a wireless network communication protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi®, WiMAX,Ethernet, Bluetooth®, etc.), a cellular communication protocol (e.g.,Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA)), and/or othercommunication protocols. As such, the network 106 may include any numberof additional devices, such as additional computers, routers, andswitches, to facilitate communications. In some embodiments, the network106 may be or include a single network, and in other embodiments thenetwork 106 may be or include a collection of networks.

As shown in FIG. 2, the illustrative user communication device 102includes a processor 200, a memory 202, an input/output subsystem 204, adata storage 206, a communication circuitry 208, a number of peripheraldevices 210, and a number of user environment acquiring devices 218. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the number of peripheral devices mayinclude, but should not be limited to, a display 212, a keypad 214, andone or more audio speakers 216. Of course, the user communication device102 may include fewer, other, or additional components, such as thosecommonly found in conventional computer systems. Additionally, in someembodiments, one or more of the illustrative components may beincorporated in, or otherwise from a portion of, another component. Forexample, the memory 202, or portions thereof, may be incorporated intothe processor 200 in some embodiments.

The processor 200 may be embodied as any type of processor capable ofperforming the functions described herein. For example, the processormay be embodied as a single or multi-core processor(s), digital signalprocessor, microcontroller, or other processor or processing/controllingcircuit. Similarly, the memory 202 may be embodied as any type ofvolatile or non-volatile memory or data storage capable of performingthe functions described herein. In operation, the memory 202 may storevarious data and software used during operation of the usercommunication device 102 such as operating systems, applications,programs, libraries, and drivers. The memory 202 is communicativelycoupled to the processor 200 via the I/O subsystem 204, which may beembodied as circuitry and/or components to facilitate input/outputoperations with the processor 200, the memory 202, and other componentsof the user communication device 102. For example, the I/O subsystem 204may be embodied as, or otherwise include, memory controller hubs,input/output control hubs, firmware devices, communication links (i.e.,point-to-point links, bus links, wires, cables, light guides, printedcircuit board traces, etc.) and/or other components and subsystems tofacilitate the input/output operations. In some embodiments, the I/Osubsystem 204 may form a portion of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and beincorporated, along with the processor 200, the memory 202, and othercomponents of user communication device 102, on a single integratedcircuit chip.

The communication circuitry 208 of the user communication device 102 maybe embodied as any communication circuit, device, or collection thereof,capable of enabling communications between the user communication device102 and any of the remote devices, systems, servers and/or sensors 104₁-104 _(J), 108 ₁-108 _(K) and/or 110 ₁-110 _(L). The communicationcircuitry 208 may be configured to use any one or more communicationtechnology and associated protocols, as described above, to effect suchcommunication.

The display 212 of the user communication device 102 may be embodied asany one or more display screens on which information may be displayed toa viewer of the user communication device 102. The display may beembodied as, or otherwise use, any suitable display technologyincluding, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emittingdiode (LED) display, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a plasma display,and/or other display technology currently known or developed in thefuture. Although only a single display 212 is illustrated in FIG. 2, itshould be appreciated that the user communication device 102 may includemultiple displays or display screens on which the same or differentcontent may be displayed contemporaneously or sequentially with eachother.

The data storage 206 may be embodied as any type of device or devicesconfigured for short-term or long-term storage of data such as, forexample, memory devices and circuits, memory cards, hard disk drives,solid-state drives, or other data storage devices. In the illustrativeembodiment, the user communication device 102 may maintain one or moreapplication programs, databases, user environment indicators and/orother information in the data storage 206. As discussed in more detailbelow, the user environment indicators may be created, stored in thedata storage 206, displayed on the display 212 and transmitted to one ormore of the remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) and/or to one ormore of the external devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K) in the formof images, animations, audio files and/or video files.

The user communication device 102 also includes a number of userenvironment information acquiring devices 218. Generally, the userenvironment information acquiring devices 218 are configured to acquirecontext information relating to the user of the user communicationdevice 102 and/or to acquire information relating to the environmentsurrounding the user of the user communication device 102. It will beunderstood that information relating to the user may, but need not,include information relating to the user communication device 102 whichis attributable to the user because the user is in possession of,proximate to, or in the vicinity of the user computing device 102.

In the illustrated embodiment, the user environment informationacquiring devices 218 may include a camera 220, which may includeforward facing and/or rearward facing camera portions and/or which maybe configured to capture still images and/or video, a global positioningsystem (GPS) receiver 222, a microphone 224 and one or more sensors 226.Examples of the one or more sensors on-board the user communicationdevice 102 may include, but should not be limited to, an accelerometeror other motion or movement sensor to produce sensory signalscorresponding to motion or movement of the user of the usercommunication device 102, a magnometer to produce sensory signals fromwhich direction of travel or orientation can be determined, atemperature sensor to produce sensory signals corresponding totemperature of or about the device 102, an ambient light sensor toproduce sensory signals corresponding to ambient light surrounding or inthe vicinity of the device 102, a proximity sensor to produce sensorysignals corresponding to the proximity of the device 102 to one or moreobjects, a humidity sensor to produce sensory signals corresponding tothe relative humidity of the environment surrounding the device 102, achemical sensor to produce sensor signals corresponding to the presenceand/or concentration of one or more chemicals in the air or waterproximate to the device 102 or in the body of the user, a bio sensor toproduce sensor signals corresponding to an analyte of a body fluid ofthe user, e.g., blood glucose or other analyte, or the like. In anycase, the user environment information acquiring devices 218 areconfigured to generate user contextual information and/or contextualinformation about the environment surrounding the user. Contextualinformation about the user may include, for example, but should not belimited to the user's presence, gender, hair color, height, build,clothes, actions performed by the user, movements made by the user,facial expressions made by the user, vocal information spoken, sung orotherwise produced by the user, and/or other context data.

The camera 220 may be embodied as any type of digital camera capable ofproducing still or motion pictures from which the user communicationdevice 102 may determine context data of a viewer. Similarly, themicrophone 224 may be embodied as any type of audio recording devicecapable of capturing local sounds and producing audio signals detectableand usable by the user communication device 102 to determine contextdata of a user. The GPS sensor 222 may be embodied as any type ofpositioning system capable of determining a physical location of theuser communication device 102 and therefore of the user of the device102. Of course, it should be appreciated that the user communicationdevice 102 may include additional or other user environment informationacquiring devices and/or additional or other sensors 226 in otherembodiments.

The remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) may each be embodiedgenerally as illustrated and described with respect to the usercommunication device 102 of FIG. 2, and may each include a processor, amemory, an I/O subsystem, a data storage, a communication circuitry anda number of peripheral devices as such components are described above.In some embodiments, the remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) mayinclude one or more of the user environment information acquiringdevices 218 illustrated in FIG. 2, although in other embodiments one ormore of the remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) may not includeone or more of the user environment information acquiring devicesillustrated in FIG. 2 and/or described above.

An embodiment of an example one of the external computingdevices/systems/servers 108 is illustrated in FIG. 3, and includes aprocessor 300, a memory 302, an input/output subsystem 304, a datastorage unit 306, a communication circuit 308, and a number ofperipheral devices 310. Such components may be generally as describedabove with respect to FIG. 2, and a detailed explanation of suchcomponents will therefore be omitted here for brevity. The peripheraldevices 310 of the external computing device/system/server 108illustratively include a display 312, a keyboard 314 and a mouse 316 orother scrolling and/or content selection device. The display 312 may beembodied as any type of display configured for a computing device andcapable of displaying data to the user. Similarly, the keyboard 314 maybe embodied as any type of hard or soft keypad or keyboard for use witha computing device. Similarly, the mouse 316 may be embodied as any typeof scrolling and/or content selection device capable of scrolling and/orselecting content displayed on the display 312.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a simplified block diagram is shown of anembodiment of an environment 400 of the user communication device 102illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the illustrated embodiment, theenvironment 400 includes a camera interface module 402, a GPS interfacemodule 404, a microphone interface module 406, one or more sensorinterface modules 408, e.g., one for each sensor on-board the usercommunication device 102, an internet browser module 410, one or moreapplication programs 412, a messaging interface module 414 and an emailinterface module 416. The camera interface module 402 is configured, ina conventional manner to, process signals generated by the camera(s) 220and produce corresponding still images and/or video images. The GPSinterface module 404 is configured, in a conventional manner, to processsignals received by the GPS receiver 222 to determine geographicalcoordinates corresponding to the physical location of the usercommunication device 102. The microphone interface module 406 isconfigured, in a conventional manner, to process signals generated bythe microphone 224 in response to one or more detected sounds, and toproduce a corresponding audio signal. The sensor interface module(s) 408illustratively includes a separate sensor interface module for eachsensor onboard the user communication device 102, and each such sensorinterface module is configured, in a conventional manner, to processsensory signals generated by the corresponding sensor in response tothat sensor's stimulus or stimuli, and produce a corresponding signaland/or determine a corresponding measure of the stimulus or stimuli. Forexample, in embodiments in which the user communication device 102includes a magnometer, the corresponding magnometer interface module 408is configured, in a conventional manner, to process signals generated bythe magnometer and to determine a direction, relative to magnetic north,in which the user computing device is facing. It will be appreciatedthat the sensor interface module(s) 408 includes one or more sensorinterface modules for each additional sensor onboard the usercommunication device 102, and that such one or more sensor interfacemodules is configured to process sensory signals produced by thecorresponding sensor to produce one or more corresponding electronicsignals and/or to determine some information corresponding to thesensory signals.

The internet browser module 410 is configured, in a conventional manner,to provide an interface for the perusal, presentation and retrieval ofinformation by the user of the user communication device 102 of one ormore information resources via the network 106, e.g., one or morewebsites hosted by one or more of the external computingdevices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K). The messaging interface module414 is configured, in a conventional manner, to provide an interface forthe exchange of messages between two or more remote users using amessaging service, e.g., a mobile messaging service (mms) implementing aso-called “instant messaging” or “texting” service, and/or amicroblogging service which enables users to send text-based messages ofa limited number of characters to wide audiences, e.g., so-called“tweeting.” The email interface module 416 is configured, in aconventional manner, to provide an interface for composing, sending,receiving and reading electronic mail.

The application program(s) 412 may include any number of differentsoftware application programs, each configured to execute a specifictask, and from which user environment information, i.e., informationabout the user of the user communication device 102 and/or about theenvironment surrounding the user communication device 102, may bedetermined or obtained. Any such application program may use informationobtained from one or more onboard sensors 226, from the microphone 224,from the GPS receiver 222, from the camera 220, from one or more otherapplication programs, from one or more of the user communication devicemodules, from one or more of the external sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L) and/orfrom one or more of the external computing devices/systems/servers 108₁-108 _(K) to determine or obtain the user environment information. Asone example, a conventional weather application program illustrativelyutilizes GPS information produced by the GPS interface module 404 todetermine the physical location of the device 102, then utilizes theinternet browser module 410 to access weather information at or near thephysical location of the device 102, and then displays the accessedweather information to the user via the display 212. It will beappreciated that other application programs 412 may be resident in theenvironment 400 of the user communication device 102, and that any suchother application program 412 may be accessed to provide additionaland/or different user environment information.

The environment 400 of the user communication device 102 illustrated inFIG. 4 further includes a user environment setup module 418, a userenvironment information acquiring module 420, a user environmentindicator creation module 422, a user environment indicator database 424in which user environment indicators created by the user environmentindication creation module 422 are stored, a user environment indicatordisplay module 426 and a user environment indicator selection module428.

As will be described in detail below, the user communication device 102is configured to automatically acquire, from one or more of the userenvironment information acquiring devices 218, from one or more of theexternal computing devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K) and/or fromone or more of the external sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L), user environmentinformation relating to occurrences of stimulus events that are above athreshold level of change for any such stimulus event, to automaticallycreate one or more user environment indicators based on the acquireduser environment information and display such one or more userenvironment indicators via a user interface displayed on the display 212of the user communication device 102 while the user of the usercommunication device 102 is in the process of communicating with one ormore of the remote communication devices 104 ₁-104 _(J) and/or one ormore of the external computing devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K),e.g., via the internet browser module 410, the messaging interfacemodule 414 and/or the email interface module 416. The communicationsbeing undertaken by the user of the user communication device 102 may bein the form of mobile or instant messaging, e-mail, blogging,microblogging, communicating via a social media service, communicatingduring or otherwise participating in on-line gaming, or the like. In anycase, the user communication device 102 is further configured to allowthe user to select one or more user environment indicators displayed viathe user interface on the display 212, and to include the selected oneor more user environment indicators in the communication to betransmitted by the user communication device 102.

In the above process, the user environment setup module 418 isconfigured, in one embodiment, to allow the user to set the level(s) ofthe stimulus threshold level(s) of one or more of the user environmentinformation sources, although in other embodiments such stimulusthreshold level(s) may be preset by or within the user communicationdevice 102. Alternatively or additionally, the user environment setupmodule 418 may be configured to allow the user to define the numberand/or type(s) of user environment indicators that may be automaticallycreated by the user communication device 102 in response to stimulusevents, although in other embodiments such number and/or type(s) of userenvironment indicators may be preset by the user communication device102.

The user environment information acquiring module 420 is configured toacquire the user environment information defined by the user or by theuser communication device 102, when and as the stimulus event or eventscorresponding to the user environment information reaches or exceeds athreshold level for the stimulus. For example, a threshold level forcapture of the user's image by the camera 220 may be defined by athreshold change in the user's expression, e.g., smile, frown, laughter,closed eyes for a predefined period of time, eyes open wider than usual,a threshold change in the user's color, e.g., face reddened fromlaughter, a threshold change in the color, type, etc. of clothing, athreshold change movement, e.g., due to wind, of the user's hair, athreshold change in the style of the user's hair, etc. As anotherexample, a threshold level for capture of audio information by themicrophone 224 may be defined by a threshold level of sound that isdetectable by the microphone 224, a signal-to-noise ratio of the sound,etc. In any case, it will be understood that the threshold levels forsome user environment information may be achieved or exceededinstantaneously and frequently during communications by the user of theuser communication device 102 with a remote person or persons, e.g.,changes in facial expressions, and that the threshold levels for otheruser environment information may be achieved or exceeded lessfrequently, e.g., every several hours, overnight or several days orweeks, such as in the case of changes of clothing, changes in hairstyles, changes in the weather, etc.

The user environment indicator creation module 422 is configured tocreate one or more user environment indicators based on the acquireduser environment information. The user environment indicator mayillustratively be created in the form of a still image, e.g. a stillimage avatar of the user and/or others and/or one or more other stillimages, an animation, e.g., an animated avatar of the user and/or othersand/or one or more animated images, one or more audio files and/or oneor more video files. In one embodiment, for example, a basic avatartemplate of the user may have multiple sections, e.g., 6 differentsections, which map to corresponding sections of the user's face. Whenthe user's facial expression changes sufficiently to cause the user'simage to be acquired by the user environment information acquiringmodule 420, the module 422 may select a corresponding avatar in alibrary of avatars that matches the new facial expression, or the module422 may otherwise adjust the avatar template to reflect or mimic thecorresponding change in the user's facial expression. As anotherexample, a dog barking in the vicinity of the user communication device102 may be a recognized stimulus event, and in one embodiment the module422 may respond to this stimulus by creating a user environmentindicator in the form of a still avatar of a dog, e.g., by selectingfrom one or more dog avatars in a library of avatars. Alternatively oradditionally, the module 422 may respond to the dog bark stimulus bycreating an animated avatar of a dog barking. Alternatively oradditionally, the module 422 may respond to detection of the dog bark bycreating an audio file. The audio file may be a recording of the dogbark made by the user communication device 102 in response to detectionof the dog bark stimulus, a pre-recorded dog bark and/or a synthesizeddog bark. In the latter two cases, the module 422 is configured tocorrelate the audio signal or signals making up the audio file to asource of the captured sound or sounds. For example, the module 422 mayhave, or have access to, one or more conventional pattern recognitionapplications or the like which operate to identify likely sources ofcaptured sounds and then create and/or recall from memory one or morecorresponding audio signals and/or audio files. In any case, the dogbark may be provided alone or may be combined or otherwise included withthe still or animated avatar of the dog. As yet another example, motionsdetected by a motion sensor 226, e.g., an accelerometer, may be combinedwith an avatar of a user to simulate movements made by the user of theuser communication device 102. For example, the module 422 may respondto detection of spinning of the user communication device 102 to createa spinning animated avatar of the user to mimic actual spinning of theuser.

As other examples, the module 422 may use GPS information to create auser environment indicator in the form of a map or image of arecognizable feature of a location, e.g., the Eiffel Tower in Paris,showing the user's location. Such a map or image may further be combinedwith an avatar of the user to produce a user environment indicatordepicting the user superimposed on the map or image. The module 422 mayalso create avatars of others proximate to or in the vicinity of theuser based on GPS positions of such others and/or on photographicinformation provided by one or more cameras that is/are not onboard theuser communication device 102. The module 422 may also modify an avatarof the user based on sensory information detected by a sensor 226 thatproduces sensory information about the user, e.g., a heart rate sensor,such that the avatar could depict a startled response, a windedcondition of the user, a sedentary condition of the user, etc. Audioinformation may additionally or alternatively be used for this purpose,and/or could be used to create an image of the user engaged in anactivity, e.g., cooking, or at a recognizable location, e.g., a coffeeshop. The module 422 could also use information from one or more camerasnot onboard the device 102, e.g., a surveillance camera, to create adual avatar of two users standing next to each other, or a multipleavatar of several people grouped together, and the dual avatar ormultiple avatar could appear on user communication devices 102 of eachsuch person to depict that they are together when communicating witheach other.

After the user environment indicator creation module 422 creates theuser environment indicator, e.g., by modifying an existing userenvironment indicator or indicator template, or by creating a wholly newindicator, the module 422 stores the created user environment indicatorin the user environment indicator database 424, e.g., located the datastorage 206 and/or memory 202. Referring now to FIG. 5, a simplifiedblock diagram is shown of an embodiment of an environment 500 of theuser environment indicator database 424. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 5, an example file organization is shown and example userenvironment indicators are shown in each separate file. For example, theexample file organization structure includes a file 502 having one ormore avatars of the user stored therein, a file 512 having one or moreaudio files stored therein, a file 520 having one or more avatar and/ornon-avatar images stored therein, a file 528 having one or moreanimations stored therein, a file 536 having one or more externallyacquired indicators stored therein and a file 544 having user and/orenvironmental data stored therein. Within the file 502 is stored one ormore avatar images 504 of the user's face, one or more avatar images 506of the user wearing different clothing, one or avatar images 508 of theuser's hair, e.g., multiple avatar images showing different hair stylesand/or different hair states (e.g., wind blowing) of the user, and oneor more avatar images 510 of the user wearing different accessories,e.g., glasses, hats, jewelry, etc. Within the file 512 is stored one ormore audio files 514 of dog barking sounds, one or more audio files 516of one or more vehicle horn sounds and one or more audio files 518 ofone or more motorcycle sounds. Within the file 520 is stored one or moreimage files 522 of one or more dog avatars, one or more image files 524of one or more vehicle horn avatars, and one or more image files 526 ofone or more motorcycle avatars. Within the file 528 is stored one ormore animated image files 530 of one or more dogs barking, one or moreanimated image files 532 of one or more vehicle horns blowing or honkingand one or more animated images files of one or more moving motorcycles.Within the files 536 is stored one or more images 538, one or morevideos 540 and one or more audio files 542 that were acquired externallyfrom the user communication device 102. Within the file 544 is datarelating to the user and/or to the environment surrounding the user. Thedata stored within the file 544 may be one or any combination of text,image, animation, audio and/or video.

The user environment indicator display module 426 is configured tocontrol the display 212 to display the one or more created userenvironment indicators. In one embodiment, for example, a portion of thedisplay area of the display 212, e.g., a user environment indicatordisplay area, may be controlled to directly display only one or morenewly created user environment indicators. Alternatively oradditionally, the user environment indicator display area may becontrolled to directly display one or more newly created and previouslycreated user environment indicators. In either case, the userenvironment indicator display area of the display 212 may be located ina single area of the display 212, e.g., horizontally across and/orvertically up or down the display 212 such as in the form of a tickergraphic, or in a single block area of the display 212, or mayalternatively be located in multiple areas of the display 212.

The user environment indicator selection module 428 is configured toinclude a selected one or ones of the one or more displayed userenvironment indicators in a communication to be transmitted by the usercommunication device 102. In embodiments in which the display 212 is atouch-screen display, for example, the user communication device 102 maymonitor the user environment indicator display area of the display 212for detection of contact with the display 212 in the areas of the one ormore displayed user environment indicators(s), and in such embodimentsthe module 428 may be configured to be responsive to detection of suchcontact with any user environment indicator to automatically add thatuser environment indicator to the communication, e.g., message, to betransmitted by the user communication device. Alternatively, the module428 may be configured to add the contacted user environment indicator tothe communication to be transmitted by the user communication device 102when the user drags, i.e., moves, the contacted user environmentindicator to the message portion of the communication. In embodiments inwhich the display 212 is not a touch-screen and/or in which the usercommunication device includes another peripheral device which may beused to select displayed items, the module 428 may be configured tomonitor such a peripheral device for selection of one or more of thedisplayed user environment indicator(s). It will be appreciated thatother mechanisms and techniques are known which operate to automaticallyor under the control of a user duplicate, move or otherwise include aselected graphic displayed on one portion of a display at or to anotherportion of the display, and any such other mechanisms and/or techniquesmay be implemented in the user environment indicator selection module428 to effectuate inclusion of one or more displayed user environmentindicators in or with a communication to be transmitted by the usercommunication device 102.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a simplified flow diagram is shown of anembodiment of a method 600 for selectively augmenting communicationstransmitted by the user communication device 102. In one embodiment, themethod 600 is stored in the memory 202 and/or data storage 206 of theuser communication device 102 in the form of one or more sets ofinstructions executable by the processor 200 to carry out thefunctionality of the method 600. Alternatively, the method 600 may beexecuted, in whole or in part, by a processor remote from the processor200 and from the user communication device 102, wherein the results ofsuch processing may be shared with the user communication device 102,e.g., via the network 106. For purposes only of the followingdescription, however, the method 600 will be described as being executedby the user communication device 102 (e.g., by processor 200). In theillustrated embodiment, the method 600 begins at block 602 wherein theuser environment information threshold(s) is/are defined. As describedabove, the threshold(s) represent one or more threshold levels, e.g.,change threshold levels, at or above which the user communication device102 automatically acquires user environment information. In oneembodiment, one or more of the user environment informationthresholds(s) is/are preset or otherwise set by the user communicationdevice 102. In some alternative embodiments, one or more of the userenvironment information threshold(s) is/are defined by the user, e.g.,via suitable calibration program. In some embodiments, the usercommunication device 102 is further operable at block 602 to allow theuser to define the number and/or type(s) of user environment indicatorsthat may be created and/or the number and/or type(s) of user environmentinformation that may be acquired by the user communication device 102.In other embodiments, the number and/or type(s) of user environmentindicators and the number and/or type(s) of user environment informationthat may be acquire are predetermined, e.g., pre-programmed.

The method 600 advances from block 602 to block 604 in which the usercommunication device 102 monitors the user environment, i.e., the userand/or the environment surrounding the user, for stimulus creatingevents. To do so, in one embodiment, the user communication device 102monitors the various components capable of detecting or receivingstimulus information, e.g., by continually polling information detectedor received by the various user environment information acquiringdevices 218, the one or more external sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L) and/or theone or more external devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K). Thereafterat block 606, the user communication device 102 determines whether anynew user environment information is available. To do so, the usercommunication device 102 may compare the information detected and/orreceived by the various user environment information acquiring devices218, the one or more external sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L) and/or the one ormore external devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K) to theircorresponding stimulus threshold levels. If information detected and/orreceived by any of the user environment information acquiring devices218, the one or more external sensors 110 ₁-110 _(L) and/or the one ormore external devices/systems/servers 108 ₁-108 _(K) meets or exceeds acorresponding stimulus threshold, new user environment information isdeemed available, and the method 600 advances to block 608 where theuser communication device 102 acquires the new user environmentinformation, e.g., the user communication device 102 stores the new userenvironment information in memory 202 and/or the data storage 206, andotherwise the method 600 loops back to block 604 (and also loops forwardto block 612).

Following block 608, the method 600 advances to block 610 in which theuser communication device 102 creates one or more user environmentindicators, e.g., one or more avatars, one or more images, one or moreanimations, one or more audio files, and/or one or more video files,based on the new user environment information acquired at block 608, andstores the one or more created user environment indicators in the userenvironment indicator database 424. Following block 610, the method 600advances to block 612 in which the user communication device 102displays the newly created user environment indicator(s) on the display212 of the user communication device 102. Thereafter at block 614, theuser communication device 102 monitors the displayed user environmentindicator(s) to determine whether the user has selected one of thedisplayed user environment indicator(s). In embodiments in which thedisplay 212 is a touch-screen display, the user communication device 102may monitor the display 212 for detection of contact with the display inthe areas of the one or more displayed user environment indicators(s).In embodiments in which the display 212 is not a touch-screen and/or inwhich the user communication device includes another peripheral devicewhich may be used to select displayed items, the user communicationdevice 102 may monitor such a peripheral device for selection of one ormore of the displayed user environment indicator(s). In any case, if theuser communication device 102 determines at block 614 that the user hasselected a displayed user environment indicator, the method 600 advancesto block 616 in which the user communication device 102 includes theselected user environment indicator in the communication to betransmitted by the user communication device 102, and otherwise themethod 600 loops back to blocks 604 and 612. Following execution ofblock 616, the method 600 likewise loops back to blocks 604 and 612.

In one embodiment, the user communication device 102 performs block 612by controlling a user environment indicator display area of the display212 to directly display only one or more newly created user environmentindicators. Alternatively, the user communication device 102 may performblock 612 by controlling the display 212 to directly display in the userenvironment indicator display area one or more newly created andpreviously created user environment indicators. This latter embodimentis illustrated in FIG. 7 in which a user communication device 102 isshown in the form of a mobile communication device, e.g., a smart phone.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the display 212 includes thekeypad 214, although in other embodiments the communication device 102may include a physical keypad. In any case, the user communicationdevice 102 depicted in FIG. 7 further includes a speaker 216 and afront-facing camera 220.

The user communication device 102 illustrated in FIG. 7 is executing amobile messaging service (mms) or short messaging service (sms)application in which the user communication device 102 controls thedisplay 212 to depict a current message content window 702, a “SEND”graphic 706, a previous message content window 708, a camera graphic712, an “EDIT” graphic, a “MESSAGES” graphic 716 and the name of aremote message recipient/transmitter 718. The user of the usercommunication device 102 has previously received a message 710 from theremote message recipient/transmitter 718, and the user is respondingwith a message 704 to transmit back to the remote messagerecipient/transmitter.

In accordance with the method 600 illustrated in FIG. 6, the usercommunication device 102 has controlled the display 212 of the usercommunication device 102 to include a user environment indicator displayarea 720. Within the user environment indicator display area 720, theuser communication device 102 has, in accordance with block 612 of themethod 600, controlled the display 212 to include in the userenvironment indicator display area 720 a number of newly and previouslycreated user environment indicators in the form of still-image avatars722, 724 and 726 of the user's face. It will be appreciated that whilethe avatars 722, 724 and 726 are intended to represent avatars of anactual user's face, the avatars 722, 724 and 726 depicted in FIG. 7 havebeen greatly simplified for ease of illustration. In any case, theavatars 722 and 724 are shown in dashed-line form to indicate that theyare not the most recently created avatars of the user's face, whereasthe avatar 726 is shown in solid-line form to indicate that this avatarrepresents the current expression on the user's face. While the usercould have selected any of the displayed avatars 722, 724, 726 toinclude with the message 704, or could have chosen not to include any ofthe avatars 722, 724, 726 with the message 704, the user selected theavatar 726 to include in the communication to be transmitted by the usercommunication device 102. The user communication device 102 wasresponsive to selection by the user of the avatar 726 to reproduce acopy 728 of the avatar in the message window 702 adjacent to the message704. The smile on the avatar's face 728 allows the user to providenon-textual feedback to the remote message recipient/transmitter, whenthe user selects the SEND graphic 706, that the message 710 sent by theremote message recipient/transmitter made the user smile.

In another embodiment, the user communication device 102 performs block612 by controlling the user environment indicator display area of thedisplay 212 to indirectly display user environment indicators bydirectly displaying selectable graphic images of user environmentindicator categories. An example of this embodiment is illustrated inFIGS. 8 and 9 in which the user communication device 102 is as depictedin FIG. 7, and has controlled the display 212 to depict a currentmessage content window 802 including the same current message 804illustrated in FIG. 7, a previous message content window 806 includingthe same previous message 808 illustrated in FIG. 7, a user environmentindicator display area 810. Within the user environment indicatordisplay area 810, the user communication device 102 has, in accordancewith the present embodiment of block 612 of the method 600, controlledthe display 212 to include in the user environment indicator displayarea 810 a number of user environment indicator category graphics 812,814, 816 and 818. The IMAGES, ANIMATION and AUDIO graphics 812, 814 and816 are illustrated in dashed-line form to represent that no non-avatarimages, animations or audio files have been recently created, whereasthe MY AVATARS graphic is illustrated in solid-line form to representthat the MY AVATARS category includes one or more newly created useravatars. While the user could select any of the graphics 812, 814, 816or 818 to include one or more corresponding user environment indicatorsfrom the selected category of user environment indicators, or choose notto select any of the graphics 812, 814, 816 or 818, the user selects theMY AVATARS graphic 818, the result of which is illustrated in FIG. 9. Asshown in FIG. 9, the user communication device 102 has controlled thedisplay 212 to replace the previous message window 808, or to overlay onthe previous message window 808, a window 902 depicting the contents ofthe MY AVATARS file or library stored in the user environment indicatordatabase 424 which contains three still-image avatars 904, 906 and 908of the user's face. While the user could have selected any of thedisplayed avatars 904, 906, 908 to include with the message 804, orcould have chosen not to include any of the avatars 904, 906, 908 withthe message 804, the user selected the avatar 908 to include in thecommunication to be transmitted by the user communication device 102.The user communication device 102 was responsive to selection by theuser of the avatar 908 to reproduce a copy 910 of the avatar in themessage window 802 adjacent to the message 804. Again, the smile on theavatar's face 910 allows the user to provide non-textual feedback to theremote message recipient/transmitter that the message 808 sent by theremote message recipient/transmitter made the user smile.

In yet another embodiment, the user communication device 102 performsblock 612 by controlling the user environment indicator display area ofthe display 212 to indirectly display user environment indicators bydirectly displaying a single selectable graphic image of a library ofuser environment indicators. An example of this embodiment isillustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 in which the user communication device102 is as depicted in FIG. 7, and has controlled the display 212 todepict a current message content window 1002 including a current message1004 entered by the user of the user communication device 102 inresponse to a message 1008 transmitted by the remote messagerecipient/transmitter and depicted in a previous message content window1006, and a user environment indicator display area 810. Within the userenvironment indicator display area 810, the user communication device102 has, in accordance with the present embodiment of block 612 of themethod 600, controlled the display 212 to include in the userenvironment indicator display area 810 a single graphic 1012 depicting aselectable library of user environment indicators. The MY ENVIRONMENTgraphic 1012 is illustrated in solid-line form to represent that thelibrary includes one or more newly created user environment indicators.While the user could choose not to select the graphic 1012 and therebynot include any user environment indicators with the message 1004, theuser selects the MY ENVIRONMENT graphic 1012, the result of which isillustrated in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 11, the user communication device 102 has controlledthe display 212 to replace the previous message window 1008, or tooverlay on the previous message window 1008, a window 1102 depicting thecontents of the MY ENVIRONMENT file or library 1102 stored in the userenvironment indicator database 424. The MY ENVIRONMENT library 1102illustrated in FIG. 11 illustratively contains three still-image avatars1104, 1106 and 1108 of the user's face, an image of the current weatherconditions at the location of the user communication device 102 and anaudio file 1112 of rain sounds, e.g., the sound of a rain storm. Theavatars 1104 and 1106 are shown in dashed-line form to indicate thatthey are not the most recently created avatars of the user's face,whereas the avatar 1108 is shown in solid-line form to indicate thatthis avatar represents the current expression on the user's face.Likewise, the image 1110 of the current weather conditions at thelocation of the user communication device 102 and the audio rain file1112 are shown in solid-line form to indicate that these are newlycreated user environment indicators. While the user could have selectedany of the displayed avatars 1104, 1106, 1108 to include with themessage 1004, or could have chosen not to include any of the avatars1104, 1106, 1108, the image 1110 or the audio rain file 1112 with themessage 804, the user selected the avatar 1108, the weather image 1110and the audio rain file 1112 to include in the communication to betransmitted by the user communication device 102. The user communicationdevice 102 was responsive to selection by the user of the avatar 1108 toreproduce a copy 1114 of the avatar in the message window 1002 adjacentto the message 1004, to selection by the user of the weather image 1110to reproduce a copy 1116 of this image in the message window 1002adjacent to the message 1004 and to selection by the user of the audiorain file 1112 to reproduce a copy 1118 of this image in the messagewindow 1002 adjacent to the message 1004. In response to the message1008 sent by the remote message recipient/transmitter inquiring aboutthe user's vacation experience, the frown on the avatar's face 1114, theimage 1116 depicting rain and 47 degrees at the user's location and theaudio rain file 1118 allows the user to provide non-textual feedback tothe remote message recipient/transmitter user is displeased with thecurrent weather conditions.

Examples

Illustrative examples of the devices, systems, and methods disclosedherein are provided below. An embodiment of the devices, systems, andmethods may include any one or more, and any combination of, theexamples described below.

Example 1 includes a communication device for selectively augmentingcommunications. The communication device includes a display, a userenvironment information acquiring module to acquire user environmentinformation relating to an environment of a user of the communicationdevice, a user environment indicator creation module to create one ormore user environment indicators based on acquired user environmentinformation, a user environment indicator display module to display theone or more created user environment indicators via the display, and auser environment indicator selection module to include a selected one orones of the one or more displayed user environment indicators in acommunication to be transmitted by the communication device.

Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and further includesa user environment acquiring device to produce the user environmentinformation.

Example 3 includes the subject matter of Examples 1 or 2, and whereinthe user environment acquiring device comprises at least one of acamera, a global positioning system receiver, a microphone and at leastone sensor to produce a sensor signal corresponding to one of the userand the environment of the user.

Example 4 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-3, and furtherincluding a processor and at least one application program executed bythe processor to produce the user environment information.

Example 5 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-4, and furtherincluding a processor and an internet browser executed by the processorto receive the user environment information via the internet.

Example 6 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-5, and wherein theuser environment acquiring module to acquire the user environmentinformation when the user environment information changes by at least athreshold amount.

Example 7 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-6, and furtherinclude a memory and wherein the user environment information creationmodule to store the one or more user environment indicators in thememory.

Example 8 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-7, and wherein theuser environment indicator creation module to create the one or moreuser environment indicators in the form of one or more of (i) an image,(ii) an animation, (iii) an audio file, (iv) a video file, and (v) anetwork link to an image, animation, audio file, or video file.

Example 9 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-8, and wherein theuser environment information comprises a captured image of the userproduced by the camera, and wherein the user environment indicatorcreation module to create at least one of the one or more userenvironment indicators in the form of an image avatar of the user basedon the captured image of the user.

Example 10 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-9, and wherein theuser environment acquiring module to monitor the user via the camera andcapture the image of the user when at least one attribute of the userchanges by at least a threshold amount, the at least one attribute beingat least one of a facial feature of the user, clothing worn by the user,an accessory worn by the user and a position of the user' hair.

Example 11 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-10, and wherein theuser environment information comprises a captured image of the userproduced by the camera and sensory data relating to the user produced byat least one of the sensors, and wherein the user environment indicatorcreation module to create at least one of the one or more userenvironment indicators in the form of an animation avatar of the userbased on the captured image of the user and on the sensory data.

Example 12 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-11, and wherein theat least one sensor comprises a motion sensor, and wherein the sensorydata relating to the user corresponds to movement of the user.

Example 13 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-12, and wherein theuser environment information comprises an audio signal produced by themicrophone, the audio signal corresponding to one or more soundsdetected by the microphone, and wherein the user environment indicatorcreation module to create at least one of the one or more userenvironment indicators in the form of an audio file based on at leastone of the audio signal and a previously stored audio file.

Example 14 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-13, and wherein theuser environment indicator creation module to correlate the audio signalto a source of the one or more sounds and to create at least one of theone or more user environment indicators in the form of an image oranimation avatar of the source of the one or more sounds along with theaudio file.

Example 15 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-14, and wherein theuser environment acquiring module to acquire the audio signal when anintensity of the one or more sounds detected by the microphone exceeds asound intensity level threshold.

Example 16 includes the subject matter of Examples 1-15, and wherein theuser environment indicator display module to one of directly display theone or more created user environment indicators on the display anddisplay a selectable library of user environment indicators, wherein theselectable library includes the one or more created user environmentindicators.

Example 17 includes a method for selectively augmenting communicationstransmitted by a communication device. The method includes acquiring newuser environment information relating to an environment of a user of thecommunication device, creating a user environment indicator based on thenew user environment information, displaying the created userenvironment indicator via a display of the communication device, andincluding the created user environment indicator in a communication tobe transmitted by the communication device.

Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 17, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiring newinformation relating to at least one of the user of the communicationdevice and the environment of the communication device using at leastone of a camera, a global positioning system receiver, a microphone andat least one sensor to produce a sensor signal corresponding to one ofthe user and the environment of the user.

Example 19 includes the subject matter of Examples 17 or 18, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiringinformation produced by at least one application program executed by aprocessor of the communication device.

Example 20 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-19, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiring thenew user environment information via the internet using an internetbrowser executed by a processor of the communication device.

Example 21 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-20, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiring thenew user environment information only when the user environmentinformation changes by at least a threshold amount.

Example 22 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-21, and furtherincluding storing the user environment indicator in a memory of thecommunication device.

Example 23 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-22, and whereincreating the user environment indicator comprises creating the userenvironment indicator in the form of one or more of an image, ananimation, an audio file and a video file.

Example 24 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-23, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiring thenew user environment information in the form of an image of the user ofthe communication device captured by the camera, and wherein creatingthe user environment indicator comprises creating the user environmentindicator in the form of an image avatar of the user based on the imageof the user captured by the camera.

Example 25 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-24, and whereincreating the user environment indicator comprises creating the userenvironment indicator in the form of an image avatar of one or moreindividuals other than the user.

Example 26 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-25, and whereinacquiring the image of the user captured by the camera comprisescapturing the image of the user when at least one attribute of the userchanges by at least a threshold amount, the at least one attribute beingat least one of a facial feature of the user, clothing worn by the user,an accessory worn by the user and a position of the user' hair.

Example 27 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-26, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiring thenew user environment information in the form of an image of the usercaptured by the camera and acquiring sensory data relating to the userproduced by at least one of the sensors in the form of sensory data, andwherein creating the user environment indicator comprises creating ananimation avatar of the user based on the image of the user captured bythe user and on the sensory data produced by the at least one of thesensors.

Example 28 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-27, and whereinthe sensory data relating to the user corresponds to movement of theuser.

Example 29 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-28, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiring thenew user environment information in the form of an audio signalcorresponding to one or more sounds detected by the microphone, andwherein creating the user environment indicator comprises creating theuser environment indicator in the form of an audio file based on atleast one of the audio signal and a previously stored audio file.

Example 30 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-29, and whereincreating the user environment indicator comprises correlating the audiosignal to a source of the one or more sounds, and creating the userenvironment indicator in the form of an image or animation avatar of thesource of the one or more sounds along with the audio file.

Example 31 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-30, and whereinacquiring the new user environment information comprises acquiring theaudio signal when an intensity of the one or more sounds detected by themicrophone exceeds a sound intensity level threshold.

Example 32 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-31, and whereindisplaying the user environment indicator via the display of thecommunication device comprises displaying the created user environmentindicator by one of displaying the created user environment indicator onthe display and displaying a selectable library of user environmentindicators, wherein the selectable library includes the created userenvironment indicator.

Example 33 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-32, and furtherincluding determining whether new information relating to theenvironment of the user of the communication device is available,wherein acquiring the new user environment information comprisesacquiring the new user environment information if the new informationrelating to the environment of the user is available.

Example 34 includes the subject matter of Examples 17-33, and furtherincluding determining whether the created user environment indicator isselected for inclusion in the communication, and wherein including thecreated user environment indicator in the communication comprisesincluding the created user environment indicator in the communication ifthe created user environment indicator is selected for inclusion in thecommunication.

Example 34 includes one or more computer-readable storage mediacontaining instructions for selectively augmenting communicationstransmitted by a communication device wherein execution of theinstructions by one or more processors of a computing device causes theone or more processors to acquire new user environment informationrelating to an environment of a user of the communication device, createa user environment indicator based on the new user environmentinformation, display the created user environment indicator via adisplay of the communication device, and include the created userenvironment indicator in a communication to be transmitted by thecommunication device.

Example 35 includes the subject matter of Example 34, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the new user environment information by acquiring newinformation relating to at least one of the user of the communicationdevice and the environment of the communication device using at leastone of a camera, a global positioning system receiver, a microphone andat least one sensor to produce a sensor signal corresponding to one ofthe user and the environment of the user.

Example 36 includes the subject matter of Examples 34 and 35, andwherein execution of the instructions further causes the one or moreprocessors to acquire the new user environment information by acquiringinformation produced by at least one application program executed by aprocessor of the communication device.

Example 37 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-36, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the new user environment information via the internet usingan internet browser executed by a processor of the communication device.

Example 38 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-37, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the new user environment information by acquiring the newuser environment information when the user environment informationchanges by at least a threshold amount.

Example 39 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-38, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto store the user environment indicator in a memory of the communicationdevice.

Example 40 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-39, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto create the user environment indicator in the form of one or more ofan image, an animation, an audio file and a video file.

Example 41 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-40, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the new user environment information in the form of an imageof the user captured by the camera, and wherein execution of theinstructions further causes the one or more processors to create theuser environment indicator in the form of an image avatar of the userbased on the image of the user capture by the camera.

Example 42 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-41, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the image of the user captured by the camera by capturing theimage of the user when at least one attribute of the user changes by atleast a threshold amount, the at least one attribute being at least oneof a facial feature of the user, clothing worn by the user, an accessoryworn by the user and a position of the user' hair.

Example 43 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-42, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the new user environment information in the form of an imageof the user captured by the camera and by acquiring sensory datarelating to the user produced by at least one of the sensors in the formof sensory data, and wherein execution of the instructions furthercauses the one or more processors to create the user environmentindicator by creating an animation avatar of the user based on the imageof the user captured by the user and on the sensory data produced by theat least one of the sensors.

Example 44 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-43, and whereinthe sensory data relating to the user corresponds to movement of theuser.

Example 45 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-44, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the new user environment information in the form of an audiosignal corresponding to one or more sounds detected by the microphone,and wherein execution of the instructions further causes the one or moreprocessors to create the user environment indicator in the form of anaudio file based on at least one of the audio signal and a previouslystored audio file.

Example 46 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-45, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto create the user environment indicator by correlating the audio signalto a source of the one or more sounds, and creating the user environmentindicator in the form of an image or animation avatar of the source ofthe one or more sounds along with the audio file.

Example 47 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-46, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto acquire the new user environment information by acquiring the audiosignal when an intensity of the one or more sounds detected by themicrophone exceeds a sound intensity level threshold.

Example 48 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-47, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto display the user environment indicator via the display of thecommunication device by one of displaying the created user environmentindicator on the display and displaying a selectable library of userenvironment indicators, wherein the selectable library includes thecreated user environment indicator.

Example 49 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-48, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto determine whether new information relating to the environment of theuser of the communication device is available, and wherein execution ofthe instructions further causes the one or more processors to acquirethe new user environment information if the new information relating tothe environment of the user is available.

Example 50 includes the subject matter of Examples 34-49, and whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the one or more processorsto determine whether the created user environment indicator is selectedfor inclusion in the communication, and wherein execution of theinstructions further causes the one or more processors to include thecreated user environment indicator in the communication if the createduser environment indicator is selected for inclusion in thecommunication.

Example 51 includes computing device having a processor and a memoryhaving stored therein a plurality of instructions that, in response tobeing executed by the processor, results in the processor performing themethod of any of claims 17-34.

Example 52, includes one or more machine-readable storage mediacomprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that in responseto being executed by a computing device results in performing any ofclaims 17-34.

1. A communication device for selectively augmenting communications, thecommunication device comprising: a display, a user environmentinformation acquiring module to acquire user environment informationrelating to an environment of a user of the communication device, a userenvironment indicator creation module to create one or more userenvironment indicators based on acquired user environment information, auser environment indicator display module to display the one or morecreated user environment indicators via the display, and a userenvironment indicator selection module to include a selected one or onesof the one or more displayed user environment indicators in acommunication to be transmitted by the communication device.